DISCUSSED: Skype struggles; nobody likes parsnips; Dan remotely teaches Merlin to cut his own hair; Dan introduces a new game show, and Merlin is dealing with poop; life is not currently optimized for multiple-event days; Merlin challenges you to remember when exactly eight minutes has gone by; why we'll eventually each discover what the hell happened on our personal Galápagos; the exhaustion of Zoom calls; an omnibus recommendation related to movies; finally, Dan Columbos Merlin with a question about napping, which leads to some surprising insights on our feelings about success and failure.

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Posted on 26 May 2020 | 7:30 pm

DISCUSSED: discussion of The Freshman and thoughts on what makes a movie "hold up"; has anyone ever craved a three-star movie?; what Merlin really wants is a smart friend; Dan is enjoying On Becoming a God in Central Florida; the difficulty of making weird good; I didn't buy it a beer; your mask is not a case for your beard; Dan has follow-up on bikes; Merlin has follow-up on companies and WFH help; thoughts on what we know and don't know about the difficulties of ““reopening””; the benefits and challenges of being a chain-worrying project manager; praise for the Austin Grackles.

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Posted on 19 May 2020 | 7:30 pm

DISCUSSED: Here we are in Spain; a lot went on behind the scenes of The Wizard of Oz; also Modern Problems existed; further discussion of 80s movies; they used to make more movies; B-MO gets a show?; secrets of the child whisper network; Saturday morning memories; C19 is making a lot of holes and gaps in kids' lives; what even is the deal with colleges?; wisdom from the great Kevin Kelly; it's one thing to know something, but it's another thing to know something; and, finally, beginning to explore how best to level resources and expectations as many of us work from home.

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Posted on 12 May 2020 | 5:15 pm

DISCUSSED: Dan has concerns!; every road has many parts, but you seriously need to show your humanity; stop signs are really just velocipede serving suggestions; not all wood floats; too soon; an ambitious crossover is proposed; Cormac McCarthy rules; Phillip W. Battery sure has a lot going on for a busy and attentive new dad; as a main topic, your hosts bounce off a terrific recent episode of Merlin's beloved You're Wrong About; hey, what B2W-ish lessons can be drawn from the response to the Y2K "bug"?; ultimately, it is just so hard to solve one problem without potentially creating five other problems; memories of New Year's Eve, 1999; for once, Dan wasn't concerned at all; more praise for YWA, and a humble apology to Sarah; hey, listen, don't be ashamed to find delight; praise for Slugline 2; a recommendation for a James Franco movie.

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Posted on 5 May 2020 | 5:30 pm

DISCUSSED: Merlin is having a strange day, and Dan notices everything; please remember that fear and stress and anxiety are pretty terrible motivators; praise for On Becoming a God in Central Florida and 1Password; security theater vs. security reality; Dan's new mouse is as quiet as a…what's the word?; Brushing with Hardest Available Toothbrush Considered Harmful; Dan is gently exposing his son to one of the great films. So what?; a couple great pieces on making actual good passwords; recommendations for a Sondheim special and a terrific YouTube guy; extensive advice and suggestions for a listener moving to a Mac; learning almost anything is a lot like learning The Metric System; and, finally, praise for the great Peter N. Lewis.

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Posted on 28 April 2020 | 6:45 pm

DISCUSSED: our perception of value is definitely personal and maybe even a little generational; sometimes, the only thing you can afford is the best; a listener question about where your hosts are with comics; further praise for TaskPaper; updates on macOS text editing; Merlin capitulates to Catalina; Dan answers a listener question about coping with chronic back pain; learning how to stop rehearsing frailty by embracing the wonders of momentum.

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Posted on 21 April 2020 | 10:00 pm

DISCUSSED: Dan loves it when things just work and so does Merlin; Dan is composting, and Merlin is down to clown; ¡repita después de mi!; massive real-time follow-up; playing with iBeacons; excellent follow-up and notes from listeners; many reccomendations; memories of Grad Night; this is a very silly one.

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Posted on 14 April 2020 | 7:45 pm

TW: very brief mention of suicide around minute 24. DISCUSSED: a classic three-act episode! Expertise is difficult to explain—let alone to teach; the Sunday Scaries are real; it's an interesting (and surprising) time for people with anxiety and depression; let's keep trying to give each other a break; some follow-up on Descript and the One-Drawer Project; You Look Nice Today is back; finally, Dan has some tips on surviving working from home.

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Posted on 7 April 2020 | 7:00 pm

In this very intimate episode, Dan and Merlin share some ideas for positive yet do-able projects to improve your life and world in these dumb, scary times. Also, covered in this episode: recommendations for Max Richter's Sleep and an insane new podcast production app called "Descript".

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Posted on 31 March 2020 | 6:30 pm